Lecture of the Master Beinsa Douno, given on January 1, 1917, in Sofia

"Sanctify them in the truth"

John 17:17

In the archetypal language, the language of the Virgin Divine Spirit - the highest in the hierarchy of the angels - God gave man a different name, not the one we know now. This happened at the council of Gods, chaired by the Lord Jesus Christ, called the Saviour of Humanity. This council discussed the creation of man and defined his name. The name man has been incorrectly translated, but let's be content with it for the present. By man we mean a rational being.

At this stage of evolution man's reasoning takes two directions - ascending and descending. The descending reasoning functions to create the human personality and the human body with its seven invisible enveloping sheaths. The Eastern and Western esoteric lodges differ in the classification of the enveloping sheaths but these classifications refer only to the external, visual aspect of these teachings. Essentially there is in fact no difference between them. According to the inner meaning of Christ's teaching, we have three essential unalterable bodies and seven enveloping sheaths. Theosophical literature mentions the seven enveloping sheaths of the body, but the three unchangeable bodies are only hinted at. The enveloping sheaths are called bodies. But they are not bodies. Enveloping sheaths is a better name for them. In reality, the human world is transient, and the evolution of the world is a divine process. From the Divine viewpoint, the aspiration of the human spirit is to attain the three unchangeable bodies. This idea is so vast and boundless that even men of genius, the great minds of science and of the occult, the upper hierarchies of the angels, and even the upper hierarchies of the gods past and present are unable to comprehend it completely.

By gods do not mean The One God but the supreme members of the angelic hierarchies. Today however, the meaning of the word God has lost its essence through its application to beings which are not gods but which deceive people. There is nothing divine in them. Free yourselves of this misconception of God. The word God had a special meaning in the archetypal language. Today the concept is distorted. With this distortion of the concept the human mind has also become distorted. In order to formulate the right concept and understanding of God, we must return to our primary state. There are many who think of God as a being which changes several times a day, as humans do. Even some Western mystics think likewise. This is not meant as a reproach. It is the result of conflict between the two lodges - the white and the black - which exist in the world. They have divided humanity into two opposing camps. They are the cause of the discord and strife which exist in politics, society, families, individuals, and even in religion and science. These two influences have split human minds. For wherever there is division or duality the Divine Spirit is inactive. As soon as one is divided in one's own mind and succumbs to strife, God is absent. This is a psychological law.

When I speak to you about man, you must concentrate on, you must imagine the man created in the image and after the likeness of God, that is to say of truth and love. This man never desecrated the name of God. Moses, one of the great initiates, said, "Thou shall not take the name of the Lord, thy God in vain". This is a commandment of the first mystic who sought to study the great divine teaching. He sought to sanctify the name of God. This is what it means to be a true human being. Until you begin to sanctify the name of God in its profound meaning, handed down by the virgin divine spirits, you cannot rise to a higher spiritual plane than that upon which you stand now.

Often enough I have observed how people in Bulgaria and elsewhere divide themselves into great and small, open and narrow-minded, black and white. They say, "We are open and not as narrow-minded as the others". It is all too well being open, but be sure you are not formless, lacking of ideas. Going abroad among the mystics, among the theosophists, one observes that these are followers of the White Brotherhood who are working towards the renewal of human thought, so that in the future a new impulse, a new activity of the Divine Spirit may flow. Today the theosophists are divided into those following Besant and those following Steiner-anthroposophists. In reality both groups are anthroposophist. Yet as people they don't get along well either. The followers of Besant are women, those of Steiner, men. Both argue among themselves. All spiritual movements of the Eastern School are led by women, and those of the Western School, by men. This division is remarkable, but is only an external aspect. Whoever is not enlightened may be tempted by them, and whoever is tempted cannot understand Christ. Just as in Christ's time some people were tempted, so are people tempted today.

Ever since man sinned and in this way distorted the name of God, he has always fallen into temptation. Those of us who are tempted cannot rise to the position of thinking people, cannot understand the inner, fundamental laws governing the human spirit. In order to change our individual and social life, as well as that of the whole of humanity, we must understand the great laws of Divine thought.

The theosophists call the superior (higher) mind the superior manas. The natural or lower mind they call the inferior manas, but there is no mention of the middle mind, middle manas, which is the most important. The lower mind is the foundation upon which human consciousness is built. This means that it is the soil of the world of thought. If you are familiar with the make up of this soil, you will know what seeds to plant in it. Every thought contains a seed of action. To learn to think correctly means to know what seeds to plant in the different seasons of the year. It has been said in Scripture, "Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he reap". What is meant here is the sowing in the mind. There are so many false concepts and misdoings between people that if they do not listen to the Great Teacher they will exterminate each other. He says, "From now on I will permit no one to take one step ahead, if you does not change your thinking, if you do not sanctify the name of God, woe unto you. You may knock at my door for thousands years You will reap the fruit of your karma gathered over the millennia" What is karma? - the consequence of all bad fruit, planted in the past. Christ came to Earth with one purpose only - to redeem humanity. By redeeming 1 mean teaching people how to sanctify the name of God in themselves as well as in the world. The foundation of our existence rests upon this name. The sanctification of the name of God is the greatest thing. It represents the philosophy of the future.

Some of you complain that no secret knowledge has been revealed to you. What do you want? - to be given a weapon to kill each other? In Western Europe there are various teachings and brotherhoods whose members aspire to uncovering the secrets of nature. In this respect they resemble women who avenge themselves on their lovers with vitriol. Why do they take on against them? Because they have been unfaithful. Once they have deformed their lovers these women are satisfied and say, "Now that he cannot be mine, he cannot belong to any woman." There are men who behave in the same way, as well as some religious people. Christ is grieved by the acts of people. God has decided to punish them if they do not mend their ways. No longer may one go against Divine Law. People must forsake their old ways, for the new epoch, the new uplift is now commencing.

The Virgin Divine Spirit descends in a circular wave through seven fields, that is to say through seven worlds. During the period of Saturn the Virgin Divine Spirit descended to the mental world and formed the mind or mental body of man. During the second period, the Sun period, the Spirit descended to the astral world, creating the body of desire. During the third, the period of the Moon, the Spirit descended to the etheric field of the physical world, creating the etheric enveloping sheaths of man. In the fourth, the Earth period, the Spirit descended to the lower field of the physical world and created the physical body. In each period of descending and ascending the Spirit passed through spiritual day and night. In the first period, when the Divine Spirit worked to create man in the image and after the likeness of God, man did not know sin. In the second period man started to fall. In the third period man came to full degradation. In the fourth, the Earth period of descent, the fall reached its end.

Why it is necessary for man to descend and sink into a world of matter? - so that he may clothe himself in all the enveloping sheaths, each successive one more dense, at which point the rising and acquiring of higher forms begins. During each period there is partial rise and descent in an oscillating curve. The final movement will be rising. Anyone who has no desire to come in contact with God will be tossed out of the common flow of the divine day, and will have to wait for another period of descent and ascent, for another wave. Unlike all those moving upwards towards God will enter heaven, they will remain below, outside of God. The gates will be closed for them and they will hear God's voice saying., "I do not know you". One day, when Christ comes to knock at their door, those who tend only to their own affairs, who do trivial things, will find themselves without oil in their lamps. Then will they come to their senses, but the divine ship will have left, without waiting for anyone. Therefore everyone must be ready to board the ship on time.

Talking like this I do not wish to moralize, only to explain what the law is, what God speaks. God will not stop the ship for anyone.

And so, the wave proceeds, and today you are fortunate to have the most favorable conditions for spiritual growth. When an evil thought enters your mind, remember that it comes from your distant past - it is not a thought of the present, it is a strange foundling dropped at your door. I do not want you to bring abandoned children to me. As a Teacher, my mission to Earth is not to raise and educate such children. To raise a sinful person is one thing, but to bring up an illegitimate child is quite another. If sinners come to their senses and regrets their sins, they can be saved. They make an effort to do God's will. Christ came down to save such people. Everybody can be saved except for illegitimate foundlings, for they are snakes which grow stronger the more they are fed. One day they will coil around you and will crush your bones. For you personally, for your future blessing, you should nourish only the great thoughts which God implanted in you at the beginning of time through the Holy Spirit. Do not nourish the negative thoughts implanted in you by the Black Lodge. A mother says, "I have a hard time with this child, he causes me great headaches and worries, but one day he will take care of me". No, one day this child will, like a snake, crush your bones and throw you off the rising wave.

"Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth". No one can learn Divine Law before they hallow God's name. When you hallow God's name your thoughts become pure and luminous. With them may develop the enveloping sheaths, where the body of truth that shall free you will be conceived. Truth is the first body which must be developed. In it lives the human soul. Without truth there is no freedom. No matter how many tears you shed, you cannot be free if truth is not within you. Weeping cannot help you. Sometimes it is good to weep, but sometimes it is not. Weeping is like rain. If you have sown good seeds, when they grow and mature they will uplift you; but if you have sown thistles, in maturing they will suffocate you. If you weep for God, you are blessed; if you do so for the world, I pity you - it will be better to have drought than this. Luminous and kind thoughts, however will uplift you. With them you will enter the body of truth and be free. This way will you come to know Christ and he to know you.

Some people want to find Christ in me. No, you will find Christ in his teaching. If you wish to know who I am, I will tell you: I am the brother of the smallest ones in the Kingdom of God. I, the smallest one, wish to fulfill God's will as ordained, to sanctify His name as He has sanctified me. God has been so good to me that I, the brother of the smallest ones, wish to repay Him with all my gratitude. I wish that you also may follow my example. Some of you might be tempted to be greater than me, to take first place. This truly is a temptation. Christ said, "The disciple is like his master". I too do not wish anything more. This modest station is quite good enough for me. I would not exchange it for any other. The station one has is not as important as the way in which one fulfills one's obligations to God. Some of you want to be kings. It is not bad for one to be a king, but there is nothing worse. A king may accomplish thousands of good deeds. Whole societies, a whole nation, can benefit from his benevolence, but he can also bring them to ruin. This is why Christ said, "Of him to whom much has been given much is also expected".

If you want to become great, this goes to prove that there are feelings of pride and vainglory in you. Big businessmen operating with a capital of hundreds of millions also run up huge debts and sometimes bring their creditors to ruin. If you have hundreds of millions and you lose it all, you will experience great torment. I take the number one hundred for it represents an upper hierarchy ofangels. No words exist to describe the anguish of a businessman who has lost his one hundred million. The opposite is true also: there are no words to describe the joy of a man who has one hundred million at his disposal and knows how to use it wisely. The later is as great as the former is terrible.

"Sanctify us through thy truth". The first thing to learn from Christ's teachings is humility. Pride is the mother of temporary, transient knowledge. One may have great knowledge but if one also has pride, one is in the position of the deluded brothers of the black lodge. If on the other hand, you obey the divine laws, even if you are is among the smallest ones, you will rise. If people wish to call the attention of heaven and its blessing upon themselves, they must be humble in the highest sense of the word and not in the common sense that it is preached. Humility is a beautiful angel, a great spirit. Whoever has seen it has come to love it. All the divine virtues for which the human soul and spirit long are conceived in humility. The angel of humility is alive, bringing forth Charity - the child of Love, the youngest daughter of God. Love abides among the virgin spirits and promises a bright future for all humanity and all who seek it.

If you want Christ within you to be immortal and powerful enough to uplift you, you must give way to love in your soul. This means giving Christ the highest place in your soul and sanctifying his name in your heart. Some people think that they are close to Christ. Closer to Christ is the one who has learned the art of being small. You say that you wish to be like Christ, but at the same time wish to make demands. In order to be like Christ and to be close to him you must learn the rule of selfless service, you must learn to think right, to answer hatred with love, and Evil with Good. Then it will not matter whom you serve, this person or that, you will be serving God. The names matter in as much as they correspond to their content. The name Christ is not singular, but collective. It is like air and light, everybody is entitled to benefit from it. Learn to think rationally, philosophically. Do not become confused by the external form of things, nor by words. Seek the inner meaning of words. If I had been thinking the way you do, I would have fallen from high position a long time ago.

"Sanctify them through thy truth". I want you now to move upwards in a straight line, to sanctify the name of God in yourselves. This name will uplift you to be, as Christ has said, co-heirs and co-participants. Today I wish to implant in your minds and in your hearts the Divine light through which you can free yourselves from evil impulses. The sword of the Spirit is raised and woe unto those who are enemies of the Truth. We must fight with the weapons described in 2 Corithians 10: 4-5: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of God". This is theosophy, esotericism, spirituality, Divine wisdom.

I would like you to take the following verse as a motto: "The weapons of your warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God". Only in this way can you free yourselves of the intentions of the lower manas, of sin, to which even today people pay tithes. Christ said, "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's".

The lower manas is the Caesar in man. This verse means: While you pay dues to the lower manas, do not forget to pay your dues to the higher manas. What does it mean to "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things which are God's"? It means to destroy the harmful germs so that they may no longer grow, to free yourselves of all impure thoughts, and to say, "Here, Caesar, take what is yours", then to take high Divine thoughts and store them in the Divine granary of your soul, saying. "Here, God, take what is Yours" - and then you will enter your secret chamber and say a prayer to God without mixing the things which belong to Caesar with the things which belong to God. Mixing these two does not make for a good prayer. Only when the heart is pure and surrenders completely to God can a prayer be strong. As long as the fire in the human heart does not burn strongly the prayer cannot reach God. Can you imagine what the state of your mind will be when you feel the Divine warmth penetrate your hearts?

An American once listened to Camila Rousso, a pupil of Paganini, playing "The Dream of Life" and said, "At that moment I was ready to make peace with the whole world, to forgive all my enemies". The American had heard many prominent preachers in his time, but no one had moved him as did Camila Rousso. Therefore, when humility penetrates your hearts say, "Lord, we are ready to make peace with all people". I ask you, have you heard the voice of humility? I have. I do not know any music more beautiful than the song of humility. What harmony exists in humility! What love wells from the heart of humility. This love embraces with its rays the hearts of all people. It sends forth every day its kindly thoughts and comfort to all suffering and burdened people, to all humanity. It says. "Be hopeful. I will help you sanctify the name of God in your minds and hearts. I will give you all my blessing". At present God wants to unite all brotherhoods and religions in the whole world. That is why you should refrain from taking the liberty of condemning people; you do not know' the profound reason behind everything.

"Sanctify them through thy truth". How does God work for our uplifting? Through sorrow and joy. I have walked the path of all human life; I have listened to the sublime divine spirits; and from the experience acquired I have come to the understanding that all people must go through joys and sorrows. There is no better path than this. Who dares to doubt this? The path is not rough but most people have served and still serve Caesar.

A woman complains of her husband, saying, "I don't love him any more, he has made me unhappy", - Then leave him. "But who is going to support me'?" No, this is no longer marriage, this is concubinage. Marriage is a sacred institution. If you wish to enter the Kingdom of God, you should not complain that God has given you a seemingly bad husband. If you complain, God will tell you,"You have chosen this husband yourself, I did not give him to you. You want me to improve your husband while you are not trying to improve yourself". When I say this I have in mind a conceptual woman, I have no definite personalities in mind. For me every woman and every man are rays, parts of the whole. I use these concepts as real facts from life itself.

And so, the path of joy and suffering is the path that leads to the attainment of patience. One who has patience gains great experience and inner wealth. This is the only way for one to understand God's great ways as well as God's great providence for humanity's future blessings.

If you wish to progress this year, never complain. I know that there is much noise around you, and by saying that you should not complain, I mean you should not permit these noises to penetrate you deeply. Your heart must remain calm and silent. It is not your fault that someone is throwing stones and breaking windows But if you yourselves throw stones and break a window in your own home I say, "Friend, you have not learned to serve God; you have not yet learned to render the things that are Caesar's unto Caesar". Anyone can ruin the lives of thousands of beings. Do you know how many centuries it takes to correct people's mistakes? Sometimes the desire for revenge surges up in you. You tell yourself, "I will smash its head, I will put it under my feet that it may know who I am". No, you ought to calm down, focus yourself, and say, "The spirit that has entered me is evil. I will catch it and command it to be silent; I will order it out of my sanctuary. It ought not to desecrate the image of God". You say to someone, "I cannot think well of you". Well, I pity you. If you cannot think well of your neighbor, you cannot think well of God, in which case how do you expect to have love of God?

There are three paths you can follow: the path of Love, the path of Wisdom, and the path of Truth, the last being the narrow path of life. Christ said, "Narrow is the way and few there be that find it", yet everyone can find the path of Love. If you cannot find the path of Wisdom, take the path of Love. If you cannot find that path, then take the path of Truth. Therefore the paths of Love, Wisdom, and Truth are the three paths you must walk. Do not be upset if no one else is following your path. Just go ahead. All three paths will bring us to the same point. The difference is only in the turns each of them makes. This is what Christ taught when he was on Earth; this is what he teaches today. If you are unable to comprehend earthly affairs how can you comprehend heavenly ones? If you are unable to understand the easy things, how can you understand the difficult ones?

"Tell us something great". This is the greatest thing that the brother of the smallest ones, the brother of your angels, who lead you in the right direction, can tell you. You say, "You are our brother". If you think that I am your brother in flesh, you are mistaken; but if you think that I am your brother in spirit, you are right. "You do not love us." If you speak of earthly love, I do not love you; but if you say that I do not love you as your angels love you, you are mistaken. There is no man on Earth who loves your souls more than I do. I wish that you also would love human souls in the same way. Do you understand? I know that your angels are very glad for you today. Do you understand? I wanted to do you a favour. I came to Earth to serve the angels and you. When I finish my work you will say that I went away somewhere. Where will I go? No, I will go nowhere. I will return to Him who has sent me and will ask, "Did I fulfill the assignment that was given to me"? If there is still something that I have not finished, I will come again. If I do not finish my work the second time, I will return yet again, I will return until at last I am told, "You have done your work well". This is the law for the little brother of heaven.

Let us do what God has demanded of us. This is the great teaching which you have not heard until now. Never before have you experienced what you are feeling now. Why have you heard it so late on? Because this teaching is the teaching of the small angels which have come to Earth to uplift humanity.

Now, I will not bless you. I do not do that. Why? If I send my blessing and there are still weeds in you, they will flourish too. I act rationally according to God's law. When they see that you have sown good seeds, all heavenly brothers will send their blessings so that these good seeds may come to grow and give good fruit. With this fruit let God come to grow and be resurrected in you, and may you sanctify God's name! This will be my joy because you will be close to God. I proclaim this to you for the New Year - I have not finished, I have only just started. You must realize that. What I tell you is the beginning. How many more things there are greater than this! If you listen to what these small ones are telling you, you will experience God's power. Wisdom will come to you, your will-power will be strengthened and the affairs in the world will improve.

Great work is awaiting the small ones. The teaching about the small ones is great. It fits you best. It is the basis of what the future holds in store for your soul. It is the divine thought for 1917. I do not speak now about the earthly but about the Divine year. I am starting with 1914, 15, 16, and 17 which form the new epoch. These are four Divine years, forming a cycle of the Divine blessing. The number one in 1917 implies the principle of fairness, and the seven, the law of repose and of blessing.

I will leave you now to think about humility, patience, and love. Through these, try to smooth out the rough surfaces in you which interfere with the Divine harmony in your lives. Let every one of you, with the help of your angel, call to God in yourself and ask Him, "Lord what shall ! do for the triumph of the Kingdom of God on Earth and for the glorification of Thy name among the people?" The first thing you will be told is, "Reconcile!" This was Christ's message. Read the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. In them it is said, "If you bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that your brother has fought against thee, leave there your gift before the altar and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. If he refuses to reconcile, take two more people and go back to him". The ones that go to the altar must make peace with everybody. No one can go to the altar if he has not reconciled beforehand. You say of some people, "Let's go and reconcile them". How can you reconcile people if they refuse to go to the altar? You must reconcile! You will say, "Brother, let us reconcile"! If he refuses, go with two more men. If he refused again, take two more men. If he still refuses to listen to them, go with the whole community. If he refuses even then, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector; he doesn't know any better (Math 17:18). This is Christ's teaching. The squahhlcs that exist at present are not compatible with this teaching.

I have no desire to judge anyone. To me you are all equal. I tell you now, if you do not accept this teaching, the result will not be good. Why should unnecessary suffering be caused in this world? The sufferings of the past are sufficient. Let joy and blessing come to humanity from now on. What I say to you today is being spoken everywhere: God speaks it, the angels are saying it, and all their servants on Earth are preaching it; Christ speaks it too. I believe that this will come to pass. This has been said; it will come to pass and there is not a shadow of doubt about it. We will all meet one day; naturally, not in the same' situation as today, but ten times better than this, and still here on Earth. After ten years we will be a hundred times better off, after another ten years - a thousand times better. After another ten years, we will be ten thousand times better; after another ten years - one hundred thousand times better; after another ten years - one million times better; after ten more years - ten million times better; after another ten years - one hundred million times better. And at the end of this period, or at the beginning of the next, we will be one with God.